The Most Difficult Dare
by tapdancer3450
Summary: Julien and Christelle are to be married. Julien loves Christelle, but the marriage could ruin his relationship with Sophie. Will he choose a lifetime of security with Christelle or the uncertain excitement of a life with Sophie?


**Hello, lovely readers~**

**Jeux D'Enfants (AKA "Love Me If You Dare" in the US) is one of my favourite movies of all time, so I decided that it would be a good story about which to write my first fanfic.**

**And yes, I intentionally spelled "favourite" with a U-not because I'm British, but because I think it looks better that way. :-p**

**Disclaimer: Yann Samuell and the rest of the creative team who worked on Jeux D'Enfants own everything. I just use their fabulous characters as puppets in the never-ending show that is my brain.**

Julien promised Sophie he would say no at the altar. In the movie, he doesn't do that; he marries Christine. Then the movie sucks. In my story, he remembers his promise and sticks to it. The rest goes amazingly. 3

Julien stood at the altar, gazing at Christelle as she approached him. Christelle tried to decipher the fear in his eyes as she stepped up to the altar next to him. Julien forced a feeble smile. The priest began to speak and Julien shook uncontrollably. He was surprised that the guests in even the very back rows of the chapel didn't seem to notice, and refused to believe that Christelle's scrutinizing eyes weren't hardening in warning at what she saw. She had to know what was going on in his head right now. This was all wrong and he hated himself for letting the ruse go on so long. _What was he doing?_

Julien loved Christelle dearly. He knew that she would make a good wife for him. She could make him happy, give him beautiful children, and provide him with a lifetime of security. Julien was sure of that.

But he was just as sure that he didn't want a lifetime of security.

Sophie had been his best friend for almost his whole life. She had been there to help him recover after his mother died. She had slept over his house when he felt alone or got into fights with his father. She had been a constant source of support, comfort and love.

But she also provided so much more than that.

Their game of Dares had gone far beyond the normal gamut. While most childhood games of Dares lasted a few hours and consisted of children taking turns licking dirt or kissing one another, Julien and Sophie's game had lasted for years and had included everything from cursing in class to relentlessly slapping a gym coach.

The game was silly, crazy, and maybe even idiotic, but something about it made Julien feel complete. It gave him wings to fly, and he often fell asleep to fantastic mental images of him and his mother soaring through the soft, white clouds-which were often shaped like Sophie. Julien knew that he could never have lived through his mother's death if Sophie hadn't been there for him, and he regretted that he never told her this.

If anything, he owed it to her-and himself-to keep the game going. It provided a continuous form of escape for Julien so he could make it through daily life, and maybe by keeping it going, he could somehow repay Sophie for everything she did for him. And maybe, one day, he would have the courage to thank her properly.

Of course, to keep the game going, he would have to do every dare she threw at him; he knew he couldn't back out of a dare and expect the game to continue. The only possible way of chickening out would be if Sophie did it first, and he knew that she was up for any dare he could possibly think of. She would do absolutely anything if he asked her to. As a matter of fact, he probably wouldn't even have to make it a dare-just a simple request would suffice.

Julien was sure he could do any future dare of Sophie's, but there was one dare from the past that was currently standing at the altar between him and Christelle like a shining gold elephant, waiting to see whether Julien would say his vows: Sophie had dared him to say no at the altar.

At the time Sophie had proposed this dare, the two were young. Julien supposed that he had loved her even then, in a way. After all, she _was_ his best friend-though the term didn't seem to express just how much she meant to him. So when she had dared him to say no at the altar, he had laughed agreed without hesitation. He knew even then that he could easily spend the rest of his life with Sophie, and he couldn't imagine that anyone else would hold a similar claim over his heart.

Being so young then, he couldn't know then that he would ever love someone else. Yet here he was, standing in front of Christelle and a whole congregation of friends and family, just minutes away from being legally married to a woman who wasn't Sophie.

He kept reminding himself that he loved Christelle. Security, happiness, safety-she could give him all of that and more. So why were his thoughts completely consumed by the word "no," followed by an image of Sophie's beautiful face and a different white dress?

Somewhere in the back of his mind, a message from Julien's ears indicated that the priest was getting close to reading the vows.

Julien willed himself to stare straight ahead at Christelle, and not at Sophie to his left. If he ever needed Sophie, now would be the time. He needed her to tell him what to do. It wasn't fair that he should have to make this decision on his own, yet he knew that this was his own fault. He shouldn't have proposed to Christelle in the first place. _What was he thinking?_ Ugh, he must have thought it would make Sophie so jealous that she'd find a way to use the game of Dares to break the couple up. Julien should have known that she would choose the more evil option: letting him get out of the wedding without her help.

Whatever the case was, he would have to decide soon; when the priest asked him if would take Christelle as his lawfully wedded wife, he couldn't very well just stand there and ask the priest to give him a minute to think things through. Julien's saying "no" would be painful enough for Christelle; he didn't need to draw out the process by standing there with his mouth open wide, all coherent words gone out the window.

But as the time for decision drew closer, Julien became more unsure. He was certain that he wanted to be with Sophie, but did he really have the courage to break Christelle's heart? He did love her, just not in the same way as he loved Sophie. He wasn't sure that he could face Christelle's tears. To see her life ruined on the day which was supposed to be the happiest of her life, and to know that _he_ was responsible for her grief. . . . What kind of person broke off a relationship _at the altar_? He didn't want to be that person. He couldn't be that cruel.

And yet, he knew that marrying Christelle would cause Sophie just as much pain, though she would never admit it. And without admitting sorrow to Julien, she would have to heal on her own. The mere thought of such pain sent shivers down Julien's body, bringing him back to reality just in time to hear a few important words.

"Julien Janvier, do you take Christelle Louise Bouchard to have and to hold, to love and to cherish, until death does you part?"

As the priest finished these last words, the familiar sound of softly clinking of bells inside a hollow tin container moved towards the altar. With a shuddering breath, Julien glanced down in time to see his mother's box gently tap his ankle. His eyes instinctively found Sophie's glowing face, and he saw her fight back a smile as she mouthed the word that had changed his life in so many ways.

"Cap?" _Are you game?_

Julien looked back at Christelle and unsuccessfully tried to swallow the enormous lump in his throat. He was certain that the fear now shone brightly in his eyes, and in that moment he knew that even if he were to agree to marry Christelle, she would still be hurt. There could be no mistaking his internal battle at this point, not even for the people in the very back rows of the chapel.

But Julien was also certain that Christelle, like him, already knew what word was about to come out of his mouth. For a fleeting moment, he wondered why the two of them had bothered to attempt a ceremony which they both knew would end in tears.

After one final apologetic look at Christelle, Julien looked at the priest and stammered the word which would change his entire future.

"N-n-no." The words came out in a defensive sort of sigh, as if Julien were realizing his true purpose in life-his rightful place, his destiny. Though the broken word was not easy to conjure, a wave of relief passed over him as everyone in the room came to terms with what had just happened.

Christelle's face showed pain, but not surprise. Julien was so thankful that she took this so well. Most women would slap him across the face right about now. He made a mental note to thank her and apologize profusely later.

Sophie, his beautiful angel, sat innocently in the front pew with a satisfied smirk on her face. Julien supposed that she knew he would follow the dare, but he was amazed at how calm a person could look who had just been responsible for breaking up a wedding.

Julien's father was the leader of a very angry family who was now on their feet and moving towards Julien with the air of a mob turning on a king who had denied his subjects bread for a decade due to apparent poverty, only to announce that there was plenty of money for bread all along.

Julien should have been afraid of his family's wrath, but he knew that it didn't matter anymore. Nothing mattered anymore nothing except Sophie. He had said "no" at the altar, and he knew that the next time he stood in at an altar before a priest, Sophie would be the one wearing a white dress. He didn't even care if anyone he knew came to the wedding. He would hire random strangers to be witnesses if he had to. He could deal with never speaking to his family again if that was what they wanted after this incident. None of it was of any consequence if he had Sophie.

Knowing that this could be the last time his father would agree to see him, for Monsieur Janvier would surely avoid his son from this point on, Julien made a point to speak to him briefly. He was lucky to find his father at the head of the angry mob. He had to speak loudly to be heard over the furious shouts now echoing throughout the chapel, and he rushed the words so he could leave before he sustained any mob-related injuries.

"Dad, I know what you're going to say, and I'm sorry. I love Christelle, but I can't marry her. I have to be with Sophie. It's taken me years to realize it, but I see that now. Please find a way to forgive me. I'll call you in a week or so after this has all died down, I just. . . ." He floundered for a moment, wondering what he could possibly say to ameliorate the fact that he'd just thrown tons of money away-along the happiness of a wonderful woman. "I'm so sorry, Dad."

Monsieur Janvier looked as if he were about to explode. Sputtering like a stalled car engine, he raised a fist and pumped it back down again, as if to emphasize a point-though he couldn't manage to formulate any words. He tried again, this time deepening the crease between his eyes before pumping a single admonitory finger through the air. Finally, he closed his eyes and growled, which seemed to revv up his vocal cords, though his brain was still fighting a losing battle with coherency.

"Julien! Juli- How coul- Your mother. . . !"

He panted heavily and wiped his brow as if these staccato sentence fragments had in fact been children which he had birthed.

Julien knew what his father meant. Monsieur Janvier had been wholeheartedly in favor of the wedding which was been ruined. When anyone asked why, he claimed that he believed his late wife would have wanted Julien to marry Christelle. "She'll make you happy. Your mother would have wanted you to be happy," he'd repeated over and over to anyone who would listen. But though this statement was true, Julien knew that his father mainly liked Christelle because he knew that the only other woman his son could ever end up with would be Sophie-and Monsieur Janvier had always hated Sophie.

Julien glanced at his panting, red-faced father and knew that no more coherent syllables would be escaping anytime soon. With another quick apology, Julien fought his way through the crowd which now surrounded him. If it were appropriate to fight or tackle people in a church, Julien was sure he never would have made it out. Luckily, even angered people had enough respect to resist violent urges in the house of God, and Julien was able to locate Sophie standing at the altar, smiling and holding the box. He grabbed her hand and the two managed to fight their way through the crowd unharmed.

Hand in hand, the couple ran out of the chapel, leaving family, friends, and life as they knew it behind them.

"Cap," said Julien, _I'm game_. The ultimate game of Dares would live on.

**So, what did you think? I know this was short, but I'll try to make future stories longer. Comments on my writing, story choice, plot, and whatever else are _more than welcome_!**

**Oh, and if I get enough positive reviews on this chapter, I just might continue this story! Won't that be fun?**

**Otherwise, I'll see you all when I write my next story. Bye, lovelies!**


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